1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for copy an area map information into a portable terminal for use.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, portable terminals such as mobile telephones having a large display panel, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) have achieved widespread use.
A method of using a navigation system in which a communication function of the portable terminal and an image display function comprising a display panel are used to display a map image on the display panel of the portable terminal is suggested.
However, in order to display the map image on the display panel of the portable terminal, it is needed to copy the map information of an area to which a user will go from then from a database storing map information and store it in the portable terminal in advance. When the map information is copied, the user must designate an area to which the user goes from then, and perform operation for copy as occasion demands. This is considerably inconvenient if the user is in hurry to go there.
The present invention has been made for solving the problems arising when an area map information is stored in a portable terminal for use as described above.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for copy map information which is capable of facilitating the storage of the map information of a required area in a portable terminal.
To attain the above object, a device for copy map-information from a car navigation system according to a first invention features in that vehicle stop detection means provided in the car navigation system for detecting that a vehicle stops, and transmission means provided in the car navigation system for reading out image data of a map including a stop position of the vehicle from a map-image database when the vehicle stop detection means detects that the vehicle stops to transmit it to a portable terminal.
In the device for copy map-information from a car navigation system according to the first invention, when the vehicle arrives at a destination and stops, the vehicle stop detection means detects the stopping of the vehicle.
The vehicle stop detection means detects that the vehicle stops, and hence, the transmission means transmits the image data of the map including the stop position of the vehicle read out from the database of the car navigation system to the portable terminal carried by a driver. The image data is then stored in memory mounted in the portable terminal.
Therefore, according to the first invention, when the driver dismounts the vehicle and moves to the final destination near the vehicle, since the data of the map image including the place where the vehicle is parked and the neighborhood is automatically stored in the portable terminal, the map image based on the map-image data is displayed on the display panel, thereby to allow the driver to easily check a way to the final destination.
To attain the aforementioned object, the device for copy map-information from a car navigation system according to a second invention features, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, in that the transmission means wirelessly transmits the map-image data to the portable terminal.
According to the device for copy map-information from a car navigation system of the second invention, if the driver simply carries the portable terminal, when the driver is dismounting the vehicle, the image data of the map of the neighborhood of the parked vehicle can be automatically stored in the portable terminal.
To attain the aforementioned object, the device for copy map-information from a car navigation system according to a third invention features, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, in that the vehicle stop detection means detects an OFF signal of an ignition key switch to detect the stopping of the vehicle.
According to the device for copy map-information from a car navigation system of the third invention, the detection of the stopping of the vehicle when the map-image data is transmitted to the portable terminal is performed based on the OFF signal outputted from the ignition key switch by handling when the driver turns off a vehicle engine off. When the OFF signal is outputted, the transmission of the map image data to the portable terminal is implemented.
To attain the aforementioned object, the device for copy map-information from a car navigation system according to a fourth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, in that the vehicle stop detection means detects a vehicle speed of the vehicle to detect the stopping of the vehicle.
According to the device for copy map-information from a car navigation system of the fourth invention, the detection of the stopping of the vehicle when the map-image data is transmitted to the portable terminal is performed based on the vehicle speed of the vehicle. When the vehicle speed becomes zero, the stop of the vehicle is detected. The transmission of the map-image data to the portable terminal is implemented.
To attain the aforementioned object, the device for copy map-information from a car navigation system according to a fifth invention features, in addition to the configuration of the first invention, in that set means for setting a range of the map-image data transmitted from the transmission means to the portable terminal is further provided.
According to the device for copy map-information from a car navigation system of the fifth invention, a range of the map image displayed by the map-image data transmitted from the car navigation system to the portable terminal, for example, a distance or a bearing from the parking position of the vehicle, may be set in advance by the set means.
To attain the aforementioned object, the device for copy map-information from a car navigation system according to a sixth invention features vehicle stop detection means provided in the car navigation system for detecting that a vehicle stops, and storage means provided in the car navigation system for reading out image data of a map including a stop position of the vehicle from a map-image database when the vehicle stop detection means detects that the vehicle stops to store it in a record medium connectable to a portable terminal.
In the device for copy map-information from a car navigation system according to the sixth invention, upon arriving at the destination and stopping, the vehicle stop detection means detects that the vehicle stops.
The vehicle stop detection means detects the stop of the vehicle, and hence the storage means temporally stores the image data of the map including the stop position of the vehicle from the database of the car navigation system into the record medium.
The driver removes the record medium storing the map-image data from the car navigation system and connects it to the portable terminal, thereby to display the map image based on the stored map-image data on the display of the portable terminal.
As described above, according to the sixth invention, when the driver dismounts the vehicle and moves to the final destination near the vehicle, since the data of the map image including the place where the vehicle is parked and the neighborhood is automatically stored in the record medium, by mounting the record medium in the portable terminal, the map image based on the map-image data is displayed on the display panel, thereby to allow the driver to easily check a way to the final destination.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to those skilled in the art upon review of the following description, the accompanying drawings and appended claims.